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In 1907 the city council decided to build a new city hall at the former site of Eldkvarn. An architectural contest was held which in the first stage resulted in the selection of drafts by Ragnar Östberg, Carl Westman, Ivar Tengbom jointly with Ernst Torulf, and Carl Bergsten. After a further competition between Westman and Östberg the latter was assigned to the construction of the City Hall, while the former was asked to construct Stockholm Court House. Östberg modified his original draft using elements of Westman's project, including the tower. During the construction period, Östberg constantly reworked his plans, resulting in the addition of the lantern on top of the tower, and the abandonment of the blue glazed tiles for the Blue Hall.

Oskar Asker was employed as construction leader and Paul Toll, of the construction company Kreuger & Toll, designed the foundations. Georg Greve also assisted in preparing the plans.[3] The construction took twelve years, from 1911 to 1923. Nearly eight million red bricks were used. The dark red bricks, called "munktegel" (monks's brick) because of their traditional use in the construction of monasteries and churches, were provided by Lina brick factory near Södertälje. Construction was carried out by craftsmen using traditional techniques.

The site, adjacent to Stadshusbron, being bordered by the streets of Hantverkargatan and Norr Mälarstrand to the north and west, and the shore of Riddarfjärden to the south and east, allowed for a spacious layout. The building follows a roughly rectangular ground plan. It is built around two open spaces, a piazza called Borgargården on the eastern side, and the Blue Hall (Blå hallen) to the west.

The Blue Hall, with its straight walls and arcades, incorporates elements of a representative courtyard.[4] Its walls are in fact without blue decorations, but it has kept its name after Östberg's original design. It is known as the dining hall used for the banquet held after the annual Nobel Prize award ceremony. The organ in the Blue Hall is with its 10,270 pipes the largest in Scandinavia. Above the Blue Hall lies the Golden Hall (Gyllene Salen), named after the decorative mosaics made of more than 18 million tiles. The mosaics make use of motifs from Swedish history. They were executed by the Berlin, Germany, firm of Puhl & Wagner (Gottfried Heinersdorff), after nine years of negotiations by Gottfried Heinersdorff (1883-1941) for the commission.

The southeast corner of the building, immediately adjacent to the shore, is marked by a monumental tower crowned by the Three Crowns, an old national symbol for Sweden. The tower is 106 metres high and is accessible by an elevator or by a stair of 365 steps. The eastern side of its base is decorated with a gold-plated cenotaph of Birger Jarl.

Stadshuset is considered one of Sweden's foremost examples of national romanticism in architecture. The unique site, overlooking Riddarfjärden, inspired a central motif of the construction, namely the juxtaposition of city architecture and water that also represents a central feature of Stockholm's cityscape as a whole. The architectural style is one of refined eclecticism, blending massive, austere, North European brick construction and playful elements reminiscent of oriental and venetian architecture, such as turrets adorned with golden starlets, decorated balconies, wooden masts, and statues.

1.
National Romantic style
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The National Romantic style was a Nordic architectural style that was part of the National Romantic movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is often considered to be a form of Art Nouveau, the National Romantic style spread across Finland, the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the Baltic countries of Estonia and Latvia, as well as Russia. Unlike much nostalgic Gothic Revival style architecture elsewhere, National Romantic architecture expressed progressive social and political ideals, designers turned to early medieval architecture and even prehistoric precedents to construct a style appropriate to the perceived character of a people. The style can be seen as a reaction to industrialism and an expression of the same Dream of the North nationalism that gave impetus to renewed interest in the eddas and sagas

2.
Romanesque Revival architecture
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Romanesque Revival is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, however, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to feature more simplified arches, an early variety of Romanesque Revival style known as Rundbogenstil was popular in German lands and in the German diaspora beginning in the 1830s. By far the most prominent and influential American architect working in a free Romanesque manner was Henry Hobson Richardson, in the United States, the style derived from examples set by him are termed Richardsonian Romanesque, of which not all are Romanesque Revival. In Scotland the style started to emerge with the Duke of Argyl’s castle at Inverary, started in 1744, and castles by Robert Adam at Culzean, Oxenfoord, Dalquharran and it was at this point that the Norman Revival became a recognisable architectural style. In 1817 Thomas Rickman published his An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture from the Conquest To the Reformation and it was now realised that ‘round-arch architecture’ was largely Romanesque in the British Isles and came to be described as Norman rather than Saxon. The start of an archaeologically correct Norman Revival can be recognised in the architecture of Thomas Hopper and his first attempt at this style was at Gosford Castle in Armagh in Ireland, but far more successful was his Penrhyn Castle near Bangor in North Wales. This was built for the Pennant family, between 1820 and 1837, however, the Norman Revival did catch on for church architecture. It was Thomas Penson, a Welsh architect, who would have been familiar with Hopper’s work at Penrhyn, Penson was influenced by French and Belgian Romanesque architecture, and particularly the earlier Romanesque phase of German Brick Gothic. At St David’s Newtown, 1843–47 and St Agatha’s Llanymynech,1845, he copies the tower of St. Salvators Cathedral, other examples of Romanesque revival by Penson are Christ Church, Welshpool, 1839–1844, and the porch to Langedwyn Church. He was an innovator in his use of Terracotta to produce decorative Romanesque mouldings, during the 19th century the architecture selected for Anglican churches depended on the churchmanship of particular congregations. Some of the examples of this Romanesque architecture is seen in Non-conformist or Dissenting churches. A good example of this is by the Lincoln architects Drury and Mortimer, after about 1870 this style of Church architecture in Britain disappears, but in the early 20th century, the style is succeeded by Byzantine Revival architecture. Two of Canadas provincial legislatures, the Ontario Legislative Building in Toronto, University College, one of seven colleges at the University of Toronto, is a chief example of the Romanesque Revival style. The building, designed by Frederic Cumberland and William G. Storm, was intended to be Gothic in style but was rejected by the governor general. Construction of the design began on 4 October 1856. The facade of University College has thick walls, incorporating layers of both stone and brick. The building possesses a number of round arches characteristic of the Roman Revival style, the arches are configured in arcades, most notably on the south side of the building. There is a deal of ornamentation on both the interior and exterior of University College

3.
Stockholm
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The city is spread across 14 islands on the coast in the southeast of Sweden at the mouth of Lake Mälaren, by the Stockholm archipelago and the Baltic Sea. The area has settled since the Stone Age, in the 6th millennium BC. It is also the capital of Stockholm County, Stockholm is the cultural, media, political, and economic centre of Sweden. The Stockholm region alone accounts for over a third of the countrys GDP and it is an important global city, and the main centre for corporate headquarters in the Nordic region. The city is home to some of Europes top ranking universities, such as the Stockholm School of Economics, Karolinska Institute and it hosts the annual Nobel Prize ceremonies and banquet at the Stockholm Concert Hall and Stockholm City Hall. One of the citys most prized museums, the Vasa Museum, is the most visited museum in Scandinavia. The Stockholm metro, opened in 1950, is known for its decoration of the stations. Swedens national football arena is located north of the city centre, Ericsson Globe, the national indoor arena, is in the southern part of the city. The city was the host of the 1912 Summer Olympics, and hosted the equestrian portion of the 1956 Summer Olympics otherwise held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Stockholm is the seat of the Swedish government and most of its agencies, including the highest courts in the judiciary, and the official residencies of the Swedish monarch and the Prime Minister. The government has its seat in the Rosenbad building, the Riksdag is seated in the Parliament House, and the Prime Ministers residence is adjacent at the Sager House. After the Ice Age, around 8,000 BCE, there were already a number of people living in the present-day Stockholm area. Thousands of years later, as the ground thawed, the climate became tolerable, at the intersection of the Baltic Sea and lake Mälaren is an archipelago site where the Old Town of Stockholm was first built from about 1000 CE by Vikings. They had a positive impact on the area because of the trade routes they created. Stockholms location appears in Norse sagas as Agnafit, and in Heimskringla in connection with the legendary king Agne, the earliest written mention of the name Stockholm dates from 1252, by which time the mines in Bergslagen made it an important site in the iron trade. The first part of the name means log in Swedish, although it may also be connected to an old German word meaning fortification, the second part of the name means islet, and is thought to refer to the islet Helgeandsholmen in central Stockholm. Stockholms core, the present Old Town was built on the island next to Helgeandsholmen from the mid 13th century onward. The city originally rose to prominence as a result of the Baltic trade of the Hanseatic League, Stockholm developed strong economic and cultural linkages with Lübeck, Hamburg, Gdańsk, Visby, Reval, and Riga during this time

4.
Sweden
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Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and Finland to the east, at 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of 10.0 million. Sweden consequently has a low density of 22 inhabitants per square kilometre. Approximately 85% of the lives in urban areas. Germanic peoples have inhabited Sweden since prehistoric times, emerging into history as the Geats/Götar and Swedes/Svear, Southern Sweden is predominantly agricultural, while the north is heavily forested. Sweden is part of the area of Fennoscandia. The climate is in very mild for its northerly latitude due to significant maritime influence. Today, Sweden is a monarchy and parliamentary democracy, with a monarch as head of state. The capital city is Stockholm, which is also the most populous city in the country, legislative power is vested in the 349-member unicameral Riksdag. Executive power is exercised by the government chaired by the prime minister, Sweden is a unitary state, currently divided into 21 counties and 290 municipalities. Sweden emerged as an independent and unified country during the Middle Ages, in the 17th century, it expanded its territories to form the Swedish Empire, which became one of the great powers of Europe until the early 18th century. Swedish territories outside the Scandinavian Peninsula were gradually lost during the 18th and 19th centuries, the last war in which Sweden was directly involved was in 1814, when Norway was militarily forced into personal union. Since then, Sweden has been at peace, maintaining a policy of neutrality in foreign affairs. The union with Norway was peacefully dissolved in 1905, leading to Swedens current borders, though Sweden was formally neutral through both world wars, Sweden engaged in humanitarian efforts, such as taking in refugees from German-occupied Europe. After the end of the Cold War, Sweden joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and it is also a member of the United Nations, the Nordic Council, Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Sweden maintains a Nordic social welfare system that provides health care. The modern name Sweden is derived through back-formation from Old English Swēoþēod and this word is derived from Sweon/Sweonas. The Swedish name Sverige literally means Realm of the Swedes, excluding the Geats in Götaland, the etymology of Swedes, and thus Sweden, is generally not agreed upon but may derive from Proto-Germanic Swihoniz meaning ones own, referring to ones own Germanic tribe

5.
Riddarholmen
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Riddarholmen is a small islet in central Stockholm, Sweden. The island forms part of Gamla Stan, the old town, the main landmark is the church Riddarholmskyrkan, used as Swedens royal burial church from the 17th century to 1950, and where a number of earlier Swedish monarchs also lie buried. The western end of the island gives a magnificent panoramic and photogenic view of the bay Riddarfjärden, often used by TV journalists with Stockholm City Hall in the background. A statue of Birger Jarl, traditionally considered the founder of Stockholm, stands a pillar in front of the Bonde Palace, north of the square, the two 19th-century wings of the Palace of Schering Rosenhane reach the rustic main building, which dates from the 17th century. Some of the older Swedish Government Agencies, like the Legal, Financial and Administrative Services Agency, during the Middle Ages, the original name disappeared from historical records, replaced by Gråbrödraholm, Munckholmen, and Gråmunkeholm, the latter most commonly used until the 17th century. The monastery, however, closed following the Protestant Reformation and was converted into a church. Probably as consequence, the changed in the 1630s, the island being referred to as Riddarholmen. The old name did persist however, so while Charles XI preferred the new name, billingss yacht Vanadis is now anchored at Riddarholmen, and is used as a hotel known as Mälardrottningen with the ship rechristened as Lady Hutton. History of Stockholm Geography of Stockholm List of streets and squares in Gamla stan Riddarholmsbron Hebbes Bro Birger Jarls torn Media related to Riddarholmen at Wikimedia Commons

6.
Nobel Prize
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The Nobel Prize is a set of annual international awards bestowed in a number of categories by Swedish and Norwegian institutions in recognition of academic, cultural, or scientific advances. The will of the Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel established the prizes in 1895, the prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine were first awarded in 1901. Medals made before 1980 were struck in 23 carat gold, between 1901 and 2016, the Nobel Prizes and the Prize in Economic Sciences were awarded 579 times to 911 people and organisations. With some receiving the Nobel Prize more than once, this makes a total of 23 organisations, the prize ceremonies take place annually in Stockholm, Sweden. Each recipient, or laureate, receives a medal, a diploma. The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious award available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace, and economics. The prize is not awarded posthumously, however, if a person is awarded a prize and dies before receiving it, though the average number of laureates per prize increased substantially during the 20th century, a prize may not be shared among more than three people. Alfred Nobel was born on 21 October 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden and he was a chemist, engineer, and inventor. In 1894, Nobel purchased the Bofors iron and steel mill and this invention was a precursor to many smokeless military explosives, especially the British smokeless powder cordite. As a consequence of his patent claims, Nobel was eventually involved in a patent infringement lawsuit over cordite, Nobel amassed a fortune during his lifetime, with most of his wealth from his 355 inventions, of which dynamite is the most famous. In 1888, Nobel was astonished to read his own obituary, titled The merchant of death is dead, as it was Alfreds brother Ludvig who had died, the obituary was eight years premature. The article disconcerted Nobel and made him apprehensive about how he would be remembered and this inspired him to change his will. On 10 December 1896, Alfred Nobel died in his villa in San Remo, Italy, Nobel wrote several wills during his lifetime. He composed the last over a year before he died, signing it at the Swedish–Norwegian Club in Paris on 27 November 1895, Nobel bequeathed 94% of his total assets,31 million SEK, to establish the five Nobel Prizes. Because of skepticism surrounding the will, it was not until 26 April 1897 that it was approved by the Storting in Norway. The executors of Nobels will, Ragnar Sohlman and Rudolf Lilljequist, formed the Nobel Foundation to take care of Nobels fortune, Nobels instructions named a Norwegian Nobel Committee to award the Peace Prize, the members of whom were appointed shortly after the will was approved in April 1897. Soon thereafter, the other prize-awarding organisations were designated or established and these were Karolinska Institutet on 7 June, the Swedish Academy on 9 June, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences on 11 June. The Nobel Foundation reached an agreement on guidelines for how the prizes should be awarded, and, in 1900, in 1905, the personal union between Sweden and Norway was dissolved

7.
Architectural design competition
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An architectural design competition is a type of competition in which an organization that intends on constructing a new building invites architects to submit design proposals. The winning design is chosen by an independent panel of design professionals. This procedure is used to generate new ideas for building design, to stimulate public debate, generate publicity for the project. Winning first prize in a competition is not a guarantee that the project will be constructed, the commissioning body often has the right to veto the winning design, and both requirements and finances may change, thwarting the original intention. Architecture competitions have a more than 2, 500-year-old history, the Acropolis in Athens was a result of an architectural competition in 448 B. C. as were several cathedrals in the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance, many initiated by the church have been decided through design competition. Examples are the Spanish Stairs in Rome or in 1419, a competition was held to design the dome of the Florence Cathedral, open competitions were held in the late 18th century in several countries including the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, France and Sweden. In 19th century England and Ireland there have been over 2,500 competitions in five decades, the Institute of British Architects drafted a first set of rules in 1839, and a set of formal regulations in 1872. The German Regulations were introduced in 1867, in the same period in the Netherlands an association for the advancement of architecture started organising conceptual competitions with the aim of stimulating architects creativity. Project competitions or ideas competitions, depending on the intention of building the project or generating new ideas, single-stage or two-stage competitions, dependending on the scale and complexity of the competition. Anonymous or cooperative procedures, anonymity supports greater objectivity during the evaluation, in cooperative procedures, the authors are invited to make in-person presentations to the jury in order to explain their design strategies and allow individual discussion. In France and Germany design competitions are compulsory for all public buildings exceeding a certain cost, most significant among architectural competitions are the ones which are internationally open, attract a large number of design submissions, and the winning design is built. Student competition Student competitions AB Student design competition Andersson E. Bloxham Zettersten, G. und Rönn, M. Architectural Competitions - Histories, stockholm, The Royal Institute of Technology and Rio Kulturkooperativ,2013

8.
Brick
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A brick is building material used to make walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Traditionally, the term referred to a unit composed of clay. A brick can be composed of clay-bearing soil, sand, and lime, Bricks are produced in numerous classes, types, materials, and sizes which vary with region and time period, and are produced in bulk quantities. Two basic categories of bricks are fired and non-fired bricks, block is a similar term referring to a rectangular building unit composed of similar materials, but is usually larger than a brick. Lightweight bricks are made from expanded clay aggregate, fired bricks are one of the longest-lasting and strongest building materials, sometimes referred to as artificial stone, and have been used since circa 5000 BC. Air-dried bricks, also known as mudbricks, have an older than fired bricks. Bricks are laid in courses and numerous patterns known as bonds, collectively known as brickwork, the earliest bricks were dried brick, meaning that they were formed from clay-bearing earth or mud and dried until they were strong enough for use. The oldest discovered bricks, originally made from shaped mud and dating before 7500 BC, were found at Tell Aswad, in the upper Tigris region, ceramic, or fired brick was used as early as 3000 BC in early Indus Valley cities. In pre-modern China, bricks were being used from the 2nd millennium BCE at a site near Xian, the carpenters manual Yingzao Fashi, published in 1103 at the time of the Song dynasty described the brick making process and glazing techniques then in use. He also had to know when to quench the kiln with water so as to produce the surface glaze, Early civilisations around the Mediterranean adopted the use of fired bricks, including the Ancient Greeks and Romans. The Roman legions operated mobile kilns, and built large brick structures throughout the Roman Empire, during the Early Middle Ages the use of bricks in construction became popular in Northern Europe, after being introduced there from Northern-Western Italy. An independent style of architecture, known as brick Gothic flourished in places that lacked indigenous sources of rocks. Examples of this style can be found in modern-day Denmark, Germany, Poland. A clear distinction between the two styles developed at the transition to Baroque architecture. In Lübeck, for example, Brick Renaissance is clearly recognisable in buildings equipped with terracotta reliefs by the artist Statius von Düren, production of bricks increased massively with the onset of the Industrial Revolution and the rise in factory building in England. For reasons of speed and economy, bricks were increasingly preferred as building material to stone and it was at this time in London, that bright red brick was chosen for construction to make the buildings more visible in the heavy fog and to help prevent traffic accidents. The transition from the method of production known as hand-moulding to a mechanised form of mass-production slowly took place during the first half of the nineteenth century. His mechanical apparatus soon achieved widespread attention after it was adopted for use by the South Eastern Railway Company for brick-making at their factory near Folkestone, the Bradley & Craven Ltd ‘Stiff-Plastic Brickmaking Machine’ was patented in 1853, apparently predating Clayton